The present invention relates to the medical arts, and more specifically, to interventional cardiology.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the largest health problems in the developed world. One of the more serious forms is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which typically occurs when part of the smooth, elastic lining inside a coronary artery becomes hardened, stiffened, and swollen with calcium deposits, fatty deposits, and abnormal inflammatory cells, leading to the formation of a plaque and termed atherosclerosis. This plaque can create an obstruction (known as a stenosis) to the normal supply of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle that can cause chest pain (angina), and ultimately can lead to cardiac arrest.
The field of interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with catheter-based treatments of structural heart diseases such as CAD. One interventional cardiology procedure is known as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). In one mode of PCI, a catheter is inserted into a major systemic artery in either the groin or the arm and steered towards the entrance to the coronary tree at the beginning of the aorta. This catheter takes the form of a thin tube (known as a Judkins catheter) through which a radio-opaque dye may be delivered into the bloodstream, allowing for visualization of the coronary arteries (known as an angiogram) using a special type of X-ray called fluoroscopy. Other techniques for imaging the coronary arteries (e.g., intravascular ultrasound) also can be utilized. If the narrowing (stenosis) is deemed severe enough, a common treatment is the insertion of a stent to restore the artery to its original (unstenosed) diameter. To place a stent, another catheter is threaded through the first, then deeper down to where a coronary artery is narrowed. When the tip is in place, a balloon with the stent crimped around it is inflated. The balloon tip compresses the plaque and expands the stent. Once the plaque is compressed and the stent is in place, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn. The stent stays in the artery, holding it open.